Ireland's Six Nations preparations have been rocked by the revelation that Bundee Aki didn't fly to Portugal with the squad on Tuesday due to disciplinary reasons.
Caelan Doris will captain an Ireland team missing influential centre Bundee Aki for Saturday's second Test against world champions South Africa in Durban.
England forward Ben Earl, Ireland centre Bundee Aki, Scotland wing Duhan van der Merwe and Italy centre Tommaso Menoncello are in the running to be named Six Nations player of the year.
A host of rugby's most gifted players will go head to head over the coming weeks in the 25th instalment of the Guinness Six Nations.
In-form centre Bundee Aki knows Scotland pose a "massive threat" to Ireland's Rugby World Cup aspirations due to his experiences with the British and Irish Lions.
Ireland's coaching staff insist that Scotland's two comfortable wins will not change their approach to next Saturday in their final Rugby World Cup pool match.